Two days after the Monaco match, the training ground at Colney was slow to stir.
Not quiet — not entirely — but slow, the way athletes moved when their legs remembered a recent win and their bodies still buzzed with fatigue.
The usual banter was quieter, the warmups a little more sluggish.
Izan stepped out of his car into the grey morning, hood up, his breath fogging in the cold.
He wasn't always the first but was close enough.
Inside, Arteta stood in the center of the training room, arms crossed, waiting.
"Morning, everyone," he called once the squad had filtered in.
A few players groaned in response.
Saka dropped onto a bench. "Feels like we played yesterday."
"You didn't," Arteta said, expression unreadable.
"Felt like it."
Arteta let them settle before continuing.
"No pitch today."
That perked them up.
"Tell us more Gaffer" Nwaneri said, half-smiling.
"Sure," Arteta replied.
